Burnley boss Sean Dyche has admitted that he has been surprised by how well his team have performed this season.
The Clarets are currently seventh in the Premier League table on 49 points - just five points off fifth-placed Arsenal.
Burnley have won each of their last four league matches, meanwhile, and will be looking to make it five on the spin when they welcome Leicester City to Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
"At the start of the season I liked the look of the squad yet again. There was a bit more strength in depth and I thought it was a more rounded looking squad going into the season," Dyche told reporters.
"There are no guarantees because we know how tough the Premier League is. You can only go on what you see and what you feel, so I thought we could be slightly better off [than last season].
"But you then look at the early fixtures and we got some good points on the board. We had a more flexible looking side tactically, so I thought we could change the way we play, which has mostly worked.
"To say we would be sitting here seventh [in the Premier League], talking about Europe and how many more points we can pick up, it would be dishonest to say, 'oh yeah, I thought we would be sitting here having this conversation."
Burnley have won 13 of their 32 Premier League matches during the 2017-18 campaign.
Matt Law
